total. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey. The budget of the Tour de France in 1948 was 45 million Francs, from which one third was provided by private enterprises. In total, 7 million Francs of prizes were awarded in the 1948 Tour de France. Of these, 600.000 Francs were given to Bartali for winning the general classification. Bartali is the only cyclist to win two Tours de France ten years apart. Of the 120 cyclists, 44 finished the race. Points for the mountains classification were earned by reaching the mountain tops first. There were two types of mountain tops: the hardest ones, in category A, gave 10 points to the first cyclist, the easier ones, in category B, gave 5 points to the first cyclist. The team classification was calculated by adding the times in the general classification of the best three cyclists per team. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange in the opening few kilometres of stage 1 at the summit of the Côte de Picardie in Versailles, Paris. This prize was won by Roger Lambrecht. The Tour de France in 1948 for the first time had a special award for the best regional rider. This was won by third-placed Guy Lapébie. Final standings General classification Mountains classification Team classification Aftermath The 1948 Tour de France first showed the strengths of Louison Bobet. Bobet would be the first rider to win three consecutive Tours de France, from 1953 to 1955. After the race, the Italian team manager Alfredo Binda said about Bobet: "If I would have directed Bobet, he would have won the Tour." Coppi, who had not competed in the 1948 Tour de France because of his bad relationship with Bartali, would enter and win the 1949 Tour de France. Notes References Bibliography External links 1948 in French sport 1948 1948 in road cycling June 1948 sports events in Europe July 1948 sports events in Europe 1948 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo